As the young lord of the Xuanfeng clan, Mu Xin had always gotten everything she wanted. There was just one thing she couldn't stand: her engagement to Si Yao, the young lord of the Bifang clan.
In Mu Xin's ideal married life, the two birds would sing together in the morning light and dance together at sunset. But Si Yao, who had been tone-deaf and uncoordinated since childhood, was the bird that ruined her dream.
At their engagement banquet, Si Yao sang a horribly off-key rendition of "Song of Longing." Mu Xin, who loved music and dance, was humiliated in front of the entire birdfolk realm. She was absolutely furious.
Unable to break off the engagement, Mu Xin picked fights with Si Yao every day, and managed to strip half of the Ten Thousand Immortal Mountains bare in the process.
With the wedding drawing near, Mu Xin met Wen Huai.
Wen Huai was gentle and considerate, while Si Yao had a fiery temper. Wen Huai's voice was like jade beads, while Si Yao sounded like a gong. Wen Huai moved with grace, while Si Yao had arms of iron and legs of steel...
On the eve of her wedding, Mu Xin decisively ran away and eloped with Wen Huai.
The moment she stepped beyond the borders of Wushan, the Cangqiong Sword pierced her heart. Wen Huai smiled warmly. "Thank you, Young Lord Mu Xin, for entrusting your life to me. I will take good care of the Xuanfeng clan of Wushan in your place."
Mu Xin died with her eyes open. Her last shred of spirit clung to the Cangqiong Sword, and she witnessed the succubus Wen Huai use her blood to break Wushan's barrier and slaughter the Xuanfeng clan. Meanwhile, Si Yao, whom she had always despised, defied his clan and risked his life to save a group of Xuanfeng eggs. He bided his time for a thousand years, reclaimed Wushan, and ultimately died alongside Wen Huai.
As Si Yao died, he transformed into purgatory, burning up his soul and lifeblood as he laughed wildly. "Gun Gun, look! I'm still the stronger one!"
Gun Gun was the awful nickname Si Yao had given Mu Xin. In the past, just hearing him say "Gun" was enough to make her bristle with anger. This time, though, she wished he could call her that forever, for a thousand years, ten thousand years.
When Mu Xin opened her eyes again, she was back a thousand years in the past, at the engagement banquet that had humiliated her.
*
Si Yao had been a little troubled lately. His short-tempered fiancee seemed like a completely different bird.
At the engagement banquet, he deliberately sang off-key, and she smiled as she praised his voice as heavenly.
At the birdfolk dance, he performed a set of "fire-poker staff techniques," and she marveled at his nimble moves.
He even called her Gun Gun, Fire Poker, and Charcoal Head in front of everyone, and she only gently told him to stop fooling around.
Oh no, oh no. At this rate, was she actually going to marry him?
Si Yao decided to run away from the wedding.
On a moonless, windy night, Si Yao sneaked out of Wushan. He hadn't even gone half a mile before Mu Xin found him. She exclaimed excitedly, "Are we eloping? I didn't know you were such a romantic, you lame bird. Where are we going next?"
Si Yao nearly collapsed. It was over, completely over. He'd never escape the clutches of this black-feathered, bald-headed, scraggly phoenix!
The serious version:
Si Yao was the last fire crow in the world. Because he had the same face as the young lord of the Bifang clan, he survived the clan's destruction.
When Si Yao was young, one of his legs was cut off, his divine fire feathers were plucked out, and his voice was ruined. He was sent to the Wushan Academy in place of the young lord of the Bifang clan.
All the young men of the birdfolk could sing and dance. With his gong-like voice and stiff waist, Si Yao was bullied at every turn.
But it didn't matter. He was engaged to Mu Xin, the young lord of Wushan. She was arrogant and domineering, and although she looked down on him, she plucked the tail feathers off every young master who bullied him and hung them from the parasol tree in front of the academy.
To Si Yao, Mu Xin was a sun whose brilliance would last for all eternity, someone he didn't dare touch or even dream of. His only wish was for his time at the academy to last a little longer, and then a little longer, so he could look at her a few more times.
Unfortunately, their happy days didn't last. The young lord of the Bifang clan fell to demonic cultivation, and the Bifang King planned to attack Wushan and seize the heart of the sacred tree during their wedding. Unable to stop him, Si Yao did everything he could to force Mu Xin to break off the engagement.
He deliberately gave her awful nicknames, lost his temper with her, and sang an off-key "Song of Longing" at their engagement banquet to embarrass her. But she always smiled gently and told him to stop fooling around.
Si Yao was utterly helpless, but he couldn't help feeling secretly pleased.
After much inner turmoil, he decided to go back and kill the bastards who had dared to reach for the sun.
Theme: Let's get to know each other again.
